Year of the Spark: December 3
by Sparky Army
Summary: Cameron Mitchell wants his sister, Elizabeth Weir, to meet a new friend of his. An AU ficlet for the YotS.


_We, the Sparky Army, decree 2008 to be the Year of the Spark. We pledge to post a new sparky story or chapter of a sparky story every day from January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2008. Though the Powers That Be have removed Elizabeth Weir from the regular cast of Stargate Atlantis, we feel that she remains an integral part of the show, and that the relationship between her and John Sheppard is too obvious to be ignored. We hope that you and anyone might happen to read these works, agree. _

_And if that isn't official enough for you, we don't know what is. Seriously, guys, we're just trying to have some --and show TPTB that Sparky is the way to go. So sit back and enjoy the 366 stories coming your way!_

**AN (sparkly): **Here's a little AU idea I got! Cameron Mitchell is her brother and the Stargate program doesn't exist but Cam and John both have classified work. And yes I'm a Pete supporter so just ignore that if you must. Not sure if the ending came out ok...but thought it was fun to work with, so I hope you enjoy.

**Set Up**

**By sparklyshimmer2010**

Elizabeth Weir stared at her younger half brother, who was currently sitting in her kitchen. "Cameron Mitchell!" she exclaimed, exasperated, "How dare you? I thought you had given up after Rodney?"

He scoffed. "Please, I was just out of guys, but I always knew there was someone better, and I knew I could find him. Thing is, I've known him for a little while now, don't know why I didn't think of it earlier."

"Why must you be involved with my love life?"

"Because I know you put too much into work to have one yourself."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. She loved her brother, but he didn't understand. Why couldn't he be one of those overprotective brothers, even if he was younger? "Cam, brothers never know what's good for their sisters. I'm surprised you even remotely pick guys with brains for me."

"Hey now! Sam's Brother picked out Pete. They've been married for two years now. So I may not have picked the best so far…but I was specially looking this time. You two will hit it off. Brains, looks, and he's a nice guy. No ego. You'll like his hair. His eyes match yours, and they're rather nice if you want to gaze at them…" he started.

There was an awkward pause at this before Elizabeth said, "That's a little creepy Cam."

"Yeah I know. It's Vala."

Ah, Daniel's girlfriend. She smiled and shook her head.

"I'm not gonna do it Cam. I'll just find the right guy when I find him, Ok?"

"Oh come on, he's really looking forwards to meeting you."

"Oh?" she asked skeptically.

"He likes women, you know, and he's not got anyone at the moment."

"So I'll just be a floozy to him? Great, that's great Cam."

Cam let out a frustrated breath. "'Lizabeth, he's not like that. Or in any case, he knows I'd kick his ass if he did it to you."

"Still, I don't see why I should meet him. Give me one good reason."

"He's… Air Force."

"Excuse me?"

Yeah he hadn't thought that would sell her. Although she had softened her opinions on the military when Cam joined, he'd never dared bring one of his friends from the ranks to date her.

"Maybe this is exactly what works for you though. A change, a challenge. He finds it very interesting that you're a diplomat"

Elizabeth sighed. She really didn't feel like arguing with him about this. And just cause she agreed to go didn't mean she had to be nice…She couldn't believe her own ears when she said, "Fine, I'll meet him."

"Yes!"

"Is this a blind date or just meeting the flyboy?"

Cam grimaced. "Hey watch the nickname, not all of us are so bad you know."

"I know, sorry." She smiled at him. "So?"

"I was thinking," he pronounced slowly, "that you'd both be happier if it was just a meeting. I'm _confident _you two will hit it off."

"Cocky. Flyboy."

Cam rolled his eyes. "Please be nice to him! Though he'd probably like that fire he's also likely to get a little bit offended. Or annoyed. We're just all gonna go have some lunch."

Elizabeth groaned. "This is going to be sooo fun."

* * *

She'd known the man for a full five minutes (time to sit down without introductions). Damn had she been wrong about him. He was definitely cute – and definitely a flyboy. But she just knew he wasn't quite the gung ho type and couldn't hold the overuse of weapons against him. Was that possible, to just look at someone and know they were honest, brave, self sacrificing, insubordinate and caring?

Right now he was staring at her with those gorgeous green eyes Cam had warned her about. They were sitting in a relatively fancy small local restaurant there in Washington, sitting across from each other, seemingly lost in the others' gaze. That is, until Cam, who as sitting slightly apart and grinning while eyeing them, cleared his throat through the tension.

"So John, my sister Liz," she shot him a quick dark look, "but don't call her that unless you want her diplomat wrath on you."

"Where have you been hiding her Cam?" he asked flirtatiously. She blushed and was unable to comment. It seemed that despite her original fierce verdict that she was going to give him a hard time, she wanted nothing else than to be nice to this man – and be flattered by him.

They made small talk for a little while, discussing his love of planes and going against his father that had gotten him enrolled in the Air Force and her Polisci class at Georgetown when suddenly Cam's cell rang.

"Hello? Oh hey Jackson!"So it was Daniel on the phone, someone _else_ Cam had tried to set her up with. Wait, did he just say something about a bad idea? "..Yeah sure I'm on my way!"

John and Elizabeth shot him quizzical looks. "I uh I've got to go sorry guys but don't you let me ruin your lunch. Stay, or else I won't pay for my hash browns later." And then he was gone, with only a lame protest and a pathetic look from Elizabeth in his wake.

Elizabeth turned back around to face John and gave him a nervous smile. He leaned in.

"He did that on purpose didn't he?"

"Probably. Look, I'm sorry for my brother, I'll pay for lunch and you can –" She stood up and grabbed her purse to open it but he touched her arm. A small shiver that she refused to acknowledge ran through her.

"Hey it's ok, he's my friend, I'll just bust him later, but...don't leave? I really wouldn't mind." He grinned.

"John -"

"Elizabeth, I'm hungry, have nothing to do, and don't dislike you or think you're insane. We could at least spend the day together for Cam; god knows he tries way too hard. We could get to know each other, friends only, I promise."

And why did she want that so much? She raised an eyebrow and he wondered if it did that often. Then she smiled. "Alright."

An hour and a half later they were idly walking through a park in her neighborhood.

"So how did Cam get you to go along with this?" John asked.

"I thought it was the only way he'd shut up. He's been setting me up for forever. I'm not exactly that young anymore and he wants me to be happy." She shook her head at memories of the many arguments they'd had. "He used to hate anyone I dated, and now he's determined to find someone for me, since I "obviously" –" she made air quotes with her hands "am not so good at it." Except, she had found Simon. And see how well that had turned out! He'd been dating someone else for two weeks before breaking up with her…

"I was married once," said John.

"You were?" she frowned, "May I ask what happened?"

He shrugged, "It was really to please my father. The only thing I did that pleased him ended up being a mistake... So you've never been married?"

"I was engaged once," she said simply. "We both realized there was better out there for us."

They walked in contented silence before John spoke again.

"So ask me anything."

"Sorry?"

"Ask me anything. My favorite color, favorite movie, where I went to high school, what music I like, et cetera. As long as for every question you ask, I get to ask one. Only fair."

She nodded. "Alright then, am I right about this? You love football."

He laughed. "True, I love football. Don't you?"

"No not really. I don't know a thing about it."

"Where have you been living doc? Under water? Football is the best sport ever invented. But it's ok, I'll still talk to you for now." He bumped her shoulder.

Gosh if he wasn't a childish but cute. She had to resist sticking her tongue out at him.

They talked for a while longer before Elizabeth realized the afternoon was gone. As he walked her home, she had to wonder at how she felt so comfortable with him, like she'd known him for a long time.

They reached her porch and she turned to face him. "I had a nice afternoon with you John, thank you."

He smiled sheepishly. "Me too. Actually I feel like..." He was obviously uncomfortable with expressing his feelings. Or at least certain feelings at the moment.

"John?" she prompted.

He put his hand up to his neck, in a nervous gesture. She didn't expect the feel of his lips brush lightly on hers, and failed to react before he pulled away.

"I would really like to spend more time with you Elizabeth Weir."

"What happened to friends only?"

She hadn't meant it in a suspect way, but he took on a worried look.

"I – I know that's what I said, but, do you think maybe, we could try-"

She cut him off, sparing him with a smile. "Yes John, I would love to try."

He grinned, but inclined his head. "Why?" he asked.

"Because for some reason I feel like taking a chance on you will be the best decision I ever make."

He smiled and brushed a curl behind her ear. "I won't prove you wrong." She smiled back at him.

"You know, this means Cam is going to be happy. He's around all the time already, he won't let me live down."

John grinned. "No problems there. I have stories. Do you _know_ how many times now he's lost his pants?"


End file.
